There's A Reason For That
by HowAboutThat
Summary: Stanley Pines is a man of mystery with a thought process that seems weird, but there's a reason for all of them. [Rated T: Violence, Death, Feels] [Other Genres: Hurt/Comfort, Tradgedy, Family, (Possibly) Friendship] [For now, pretty much a bunch of one-shots] [Grunkle Stan-centric] [Do you read the things I put after the summary?] [INFREQUENTLY UPDATED: UPDATED ONLY WHEN INSPIRED]
1. Chapter 1

HAT: I know! Another one! This one's gonna be the most inconsistent story because it'll only be uprated when I get ideas (so far, I have three, including this one). Now, enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: Gravity Falls isn't mine, just the plot and OCs (yes, there will be OCs).**

* * *

 **Greed:**

"Haha! Another day another hundred," Stanley crows when he puts his money away.

"Stanley, you're greed's gonna get you into trouble," Stanford warns his brother, noting the way his brother's eyes glowed when he was counting the money.

Stanley scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Too late for that, poindexter. Still gotta make a living."

The darker haired man rolls his eyes this time. "You don't have to make millions anymore. Dad's long gone- you don't have to prove anything to him anymore."

That makes the sharply dressed Pines frown. "Just goes to show ya... you don't know everything about me."

"Wait wh-"

Without another word Stanley turns on his heel and starts to walk to the home part of the Mystery Shack to see what his niece and nephew want to eat, but his shoulder's grabbed and he's whirled around to face the confused man.

"What?" An irritated Stanley Pines demands.

"Why else would you be so greedy?"

"Think about what I said thirty years ago about what I had to go through for ten years," Stanley grunts and turns on his heel to continue with the task that he had in mind before, leaving his brother standing there in his own thoughts.

...

 _"You ignoramus! Your brother was gonna be our ticket out of this dump! All you ever do is lie and cheat and ride on your brother's coattails- well- this time you cost our family potential millions and until you make us a fortune, you're not welcome in this household!"_

Stanley internally winced as he heard those words once again in the back of his mind as he fled from another city in his car- the one thing he had to his name.

He remembered the day that he and his father went to get it. His father didn't like it at first- it was tan and near broken down- but after some convincing his father got it for him allowed Stanley to fix it up himself. He poured blood, sweat and- no one would ever hear him admit it- tears into getting this car to be not only drivable, but also legal. He even painted it and he took his first joyride in his new car with his brother before he ended up having to take his mother shopping a few hours later. After that he became his brother's ride as well as his mother's when she felt like going out and such, but enjoyed the freedom all the same.

Now this rolling junkyard was all that he had. Once taken care of like it was a child with the occasional peanut shells and empty cups here and there but still relatively clean, but now with everything he owned thrown in haphazardly and filled with junk that he should have thrown out years ago.

The man drove into a truck stop and parked while glancing around for cops that might have recognized his license plate and followed him. When he was sure he was safe he turned off the car and rolled down the windows partially so that a breeze would get in. No trucks were around and he could tell by the dirt and trash around the clearing that no one would show up for a long time so he was safe for the moment. He wasn't happy sleeping in his car, but it was better than nothing- which he'd been left with before.

 _Home sweet home,_ he thought bitterly while staring at the ceiling. _One day I'll live in a big house and won't have to eat scraps and just fast food unless I want to. I'll show the old man that he made a mistake in kicking me out._

His father was a good drive to make millions and save every penny that he can, but if he were honest with himself he was also tired of being homeless. He was tired of having to roam and live in his stupidly cramped car and having to wake up with back pains and neck pains every single day. He was tired of scraps and he was tired of thinking about how he failed his family by not being as accomplished as his twin brother and bringing in the money that his father so craved to get out of their rinky-dink pawn shop.

 _Just gotta save money... then everything will be better..._

...

Stanley sits on the couch with his niece sleeping in his lap and his nephew leaning against his arm while he sat on the arm of the chair while thinking about how he's going to go back to where he was before he managed to set himself up at the Mystery Shack. He's scared and needs to save as much money as he possibly can otherwise he'll be back where he was before...

Homeless and alone.

With a sigh he gets up with the twelve-year-olds in his arms and takes them up the the attic and tucks them each into their beds. He walks out and enters his room to find his brother snooping through his stuff. Back when they were children it didn't matter- he had nothing to hide back then- but now he feels a bit of anger rise in his chest.

"What're you doing?!" He demands.

"Trying to find out what you won't tell me..."

Stanley crosses his arms over his chest. "Yes, I'm a greedy bastard, just leave it be!"

"If it's not dad, then what else makes you so... this?"

"Stanford, _drop it_ ," Stanley growls. While Stanford knows when to drop something, Stanford will constantly bug at someone until he got an answer or he was snapped at- just like now. "Just like you've got things you don't want to talk about, I've got things _I_ don't want to talk about."

"It can't be as bad as what I saw on the other side of the portal," the slightly darker haired man scoffs.

 _This man's about to make me lose it._ "I don't know what you saw on the other side of that _damned portal_ , but I know what I've seen on this side and it's enough to make me not want to think about it, got it? When I say 'drop it' I mean it. Now I've got to get some sleep because I've got to work tomorrow. _Good. Night._ "

Stanford stands there for a moment in shock before he turns and walks out of the room while grumbling, "G'night" under his breath.

Stanley lies down and tries to memorize the feeling of a bed under his body because he knows soon he'll have to be back in that car for the rest of his life.

* * *

HAT: Yep! Let's see how much I can do to jerk at your feels while jerking at mine while I'm writing them.

Dipper: You do know that most of this probably never happened, right?

HAT: *pouts* That's why it's called "fanfiction" It's fiction on something written by a fan.

Dipper: I know what fanfiction means.

HAT: Okay, just making sure.

Dipper: Review everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

HAT: This one's more for violence. Oh- and you may not know this but- some (*cough*most*cough*) of what I've written for the first... two chapters of this story were written in my half-asleep state of mind at... I'm gonna say 3-5 o'clock in the morning the day before yesterday (?, no concept of days anymore), right before I go to bed. Give me credit that it even makes sense (first chapter got posted right before I gave up and went to sleep after pulling an all-nigher to get my sleeping schedule back to normal (I think it's working)). Enough of that! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: Gravity Falls isn't mine, just the plot and OCs (yes, there will be OCs).**

* * *

 **Acrophobia:**

"Grunkle Stan!" The cry is shrill, high-pitched, and full of fear.

"Dipper?" Stanley calls while trying to follow the sound of the voice.

"No, Mabel!"

Easy enough to confuse, but he should've known Mabel's would be slightly deeper than her brother's shrill screams.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"I'm stuck," she whimpers as he walks outside to see her hugging the trunk of a tree.

He sighs. "How'd you get stuck up there?"

She tightens her grip on the tree. "I was trying to give a squirrel a makeover and I followed it... Grunkle Stan, I'm scared."

Something deeply paternal wakes up at those words being whimpered by his teary-eyed great-niece. "Don't worry, kid, I'll get you down!"

Fear creeps into him at the thought of her slipping off and ending up dead on the ground because her arms got too tired or other such things. That paternal drive makes him more desperate to get to her than if he were some heartless bastard that didn't care about anyone else.

There was a time he wouldn't be able to do this- he'd be left to get his brother to save his great-niece if Mabel hadn't taken his fear of heights (because as soon as it left him it went right into her). He feels terrible that the girl is so deathly afraid of heights now. He realizes that nearly dying is a good reason for being afraid of heights since the both of them got acrophobia that way- though he conquered it the same way. They learned to fear it two _very_ different ways...

...

Stanley's eyes were blindfolded and he was being pushed toward the edge of a building. His heart was beating fast and his mind was running faster to try and find a way out of this for himself. He can't die yet! He hadn't proven his father wrong, he hadn't made things right with his brother, he hadn't seen Shermy graduate from middle school yet! He wasn't ready to die!

"L-L-Listen, listen, listen! I didn't see nothin'! I promise!"

"I don't believe you," the harsh voice of the man behind him growled.

"Please, I don't wanna die! I won't tell anyone what happened, I swear!"

"Swear on your mother's life." Stanley stopped. He'd _never_ sworn on his mother's life before- not even when he was most desperate. He loved her too much. If he swore and his mother got hurt then he'd never forgive himself. The blind fold was ripped off and he was held by his shirt and held out so that if the man were to let go he'd fall backwards onto the street and die. He managed to look down and his stomach flips as he realized that he was going to die. He was jerked and he looked at the man in his steely iron colored eyes. "Look at me! Swear on your mother's life that you ain't gonna tell."

"I... Make me swear on somethin' else, not my momma! I ain't ever sworn on my momma's life," Stanley whimpered.

"Then I guess I'll have to-"

"Please!" Stanley shouted while grabbing the sleeve with his teeth as he feels the grip loosen. "I'm not gonna snitch! I swear! I swear on my grandmama's grave!"

 _I'm sorry grandma_ , he thought.

"Not good enough."

"No!"

And then he was falling backward toward the empty streets below. There were so many things that he didn't do that he regretted not doing. He didn't go back home and make things right with his brother or make enough money to go back home or let Shermy know that he has another brother other than Stanford or even get the girl of is dreams to settle down with and raise a family. He was gonna die and no one would care.

Suddenly a pair of hands catches his shirt and arms painfully and he looks up to see his partner in crime- a tanned, sharp-looking man with slicked back, greasy black hair and twinkling dark brown eyes. "Jake?"

Jake flashes a nearly perfect white smile- he has a gap in-between his two front teeth. "You didn't think I'd let you die, did you?"

"Kinda," Stanley admits and then stiffens when he looks down.

"Whoa, loosen up."

Despite this he can't. He's too afraid of falling.

This leaves Jake to struggle to bring up a stiff Stanley Pines into the abandoned apartment that he was caught from. They tumble onto the ground and footsteps can be heard from above as they search for the only witness there is. Jake uses his switchblade to cut off the ropes on Stanley's wrists and hauls him to standing position, but Stanley's far gone in his mind.

"Snap outta it, Stan! We've gotta go," Jake hisses under his breath.

"Y-yeah, right," stutters the petrified man before he follows his friend to escape the thugs that are after them.

...

Yes, a very different way than Mabel gained her acrophobia.

Stanley carefully climbs up the tree while mentally noting where the weak branches are and the stronger ones that will be able to hold his weight as he climbs down with his great-niece. He gets a few tears in his suit, but he has a few more to spare so he figures that he'll be fine in that department.

He reaches the girl and touches her shoulder. "I'm here, sweetie."

Mabel looks at him before throwing herself at him and hugging him around his neck- lucky for them he has a good grip on the brach that he's holding. "Grunkle Stan!"

"It's alright, sweetheart, I'm here. I need you to climb onto my back and hold on as tight as you can without choking me. Got it?"

"Mhm," she mumbles and clambers onto his back and holds on as best as she can.

He climbs down slowly since going down is always much harder than climbing up (unless it's stairs) and once he's on the bottom he has Mabel climb around to his front so that he can set her on the ground, but she refuses to let go of him.

 _She is just a kid_ , he reminds himself. With that in mind he holds her much like he normally would and walks back into the Shack to get her some warm milk to calm her nerves. He ends up doing all of this with one hand with the girl still clinging to him so when the milk is ready he has to sit down at the table with her in his lap.

"C'mon, kid, drink up," he insists, trying to adjust himself to see her face, but said face is buried in his chest. Then he swallows a lump in his throat and says a word he hasn't said in years. "P-please, Mabel, drink up for me."

He manages to get through to her and she drinks the milk in silence. He doesn't blame her, it's mortifying to have to face one's fear or to accidentally wind up in front of their fear like she had today.

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan," she finally says.

He lets out a breath of relief. "No, problem. Don't scare me like that again."

She makes a face. "I scared you?"

"Yeah! I thought ya were gonna get hurt or fall and then what would I do with myself? Promise not to go chasing anymore squirrels?"

"Promise," she nods and gives him a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best!"

He coughs into his fist to try and hide his awkwardness and just how proud he is of himself. "I try... now c'mon, let's go prank your brother."

"Okay!"

* * *

HAT: I know I'm updating fast, I'm impatient... also, I want to tell all the authors who are writing a story I'm reading to hurry up! Especially you _MahouBiitoruzu,_ TheAngelofFate, and whoever else has an unfinished story that I'm reading! I've been waiting for y'all to update and every time I've checked so far I've been disappointed.

Stanley: Calm down kid.

HAT: You're right... *breathes deeply and then looks at story* Who knows what _all_ happened in that ten year gap?

Stanley: Um... I do.

HAT: No one asked you.

Stanley: *points to a reader* But-

HAT: Stanley... If they knew what happened in those ten years of your life, what would be the purpose of me writing this story?

Stanley: ... touché. *turns to camera* Review everybody!


	3. Chapter 3

HAT: If you cry easy, get your tissues... this is where the feels attack.

 **Disclaimer: Gravity Falls isn't mine, just the plot and OCs (yes, there will be OCs).**

* * *

 **Family Bonding:**  


"And this is where we were running form the police," Dipper says with a chuckle.

"And this is where we stole some guy's fish," Mabel exclaims excitedly while pointing at the picture.

"Sounds like you guys had fun," Stanford comments with a small smile.

"Yeah. We were jerks for abandoning Grunkle Stan- he just wanted to spend time with us," Dipper murmurs.

There's a reason for him having want to spend time with the twins so badly despite how fishing was ruined for him...

...

"Daddy, daddy! Come out and play!" A child's voice called (A/N: I know what you're thinking because I'd have thought the same thing if I read it: Damn (it)!).

Stanley sighed, not because he was annoyed with the child, but because he didn't have time for her. "I'm sorry, baby girl."

A small girl with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes pouted. "You're always working!"

"I've got to," he said before kneeling in front of his daughter. "I'm working for you... but how about this? Tomorrow I'll clear the _whole day_ for you. I'll close up the Murder Hut and we can play all day- whatever you want."

She grinned. "Fishing!"

"Alright, tomorrow we'll go fishing all day. Fishing season just started, so that's a good idea. Now go into the house and get something to eat."

"Okay," the ten year old said merrily and ran back into the house part of the Murder Hut.

Stanley smiled after his daughter fondly. How he managed to be blessed enough to have her in his life, he'd never know. It was soul crushing to lose her mother, but it lifted his spirits to see his daughter grow to the beautiful young lady that she is now. He could only imagine how she would be when she was grown up.

-End of the Day-

Stanley was exhausted, but he'd managed to make enough money to get most of the bills out of the way and be able to afford to miss the next day of work to spend the day with his little girl. He entered the living room and saw his girl lying on the couch asleep. He smiled and picked her up and walked her into her room and tucked her in.

"Goodnight, Kat," he murmurs while he kisses her temple. "Sweet dreams."

His sleep wouldn't last long because she ended up curled against his side an hour after he got settled down. Her small body was trembling and he ended up soothing her as best he could. She had a nightmare of him dying- and this wasn't the first time. He was starting to get worried. If he died, who would look after his child? She was his priority- he even put the portal after her needs, and he'd been working on that portal for almost fourteen years.

"I don't want you to die," she whimpers.

He moves her hair from her face and looks down at her. "Listen, Kat, I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna stay with you forever and ever. Got that?"

She nods and cuddles up to her father's side. "G'night, daddy."

"G'night, Kat," he murmurs before he does to sleep.

-The Next Day-

"Wake up daddy! It's fishing day!"

"Karen, you're too big to be jumping on my chest," Stanley coughs as he picks up his little girl and places her on the bed beside him. "It's... eight in the morning?! Kaaat!"

"I know that Pines don't wake up until noon, but I'm really excited."

He chuckles. "Okay, let's get ready and go out."

Soon enough all the fishing gear is packed in the car and his daughter is buckled in the back seat and they're on their way to the lake. Everyone should be there- fishing season just started the day before- but whether or not anyone's there, all that mattered was that his daughter had a good time. It took ten minutes to get to the lake, but it was worth it to get to the lake. Stanley took the boat off of the top of his car and pushed it into the water. He and Karen built it together and he kept it nice and clean and even allowed her to name it and she named it after the boat he told her about- talk about a tear jerker.

"Alright, sweetie, do you have the snacks?" He didn't hear anything and turned around to see what she was doing to occupy her only to find her nowhere in sight. "Karen?... Karen?!"

 _She's gone. Nonononononononono!_ Stanley thought as he ran forward and looked around for his daughter and asked if anyone had seen her and called her until his voice was hoarse and then some.

He spent the entire day looking for her and threatening the police to get them to do their jobs. It wasn't until Manly Dan physically dragged him home that he stopped looking, but even then he looked out the window to see if he could find her. Manly Dan dropped him off and assured him that they'd all look for his daughter, but that it was time for Stanley to rest.

Stanley couldn't go back to the lake because they were smart enough to know that if they had his car dropped off in front of his house that he could only drive back down there to look for her some more. He searched the woods around his home for another hour and a half before he went back inside.

"Da-!"

He ran into the living room and found a familiar man holding a knife to his daughter's back. "Harold?! What's this about? Why're you here?"

"Here to collect a debt for somebody and earning a living. Now it's either gonna be you give me the money or she gets it."

This man was like a brother to him and he couldn't believe that this man would drag his daughter over a small debt. He trusted this man with his daughter, with his criminal life, with _everything_ and what did he get in return? _This shit._

"Okay, okay, fine! Take me- okay? Just let her go... please."

Harold barked in laughter. "You think "please" is gonna settle it? No, I want _cash_."

"Gimme a second," Stanley said and briskly walked into the gift shop and got as much money as he could and stuffs it into a bag. He didn't even count how much money he was losing, he just stuffed it into his bag and then walked out into the living room and threw it at Rico's feet. "There. Now gimme back my daughter."

"How much is in there?"

"I dunno," Stanley grunted. "At least two thousand... please- Harold- gimme my kid."

"Daddy, I'm scared," Karen whimpered. "I thought Uncle Harold was nice."

"It's okay sweetie, you and I'll go fishing tomorrow and everything'll be fine," he assured, his entire being wanting to run over and snatch his baby girl away from the man, but he knows all the consequences of that. "Just let daddy handle it."

"It's okay kid, I was never gonna hurt you," Harold said while hugging the girl and then stood abruptly while taking out and pointing a gun at Stanley. "But your daddy's another story."

" _No!_ " She screamed at the top of her lungs and Stanley couldn't get across the room fast enough because he could only watch as his daughter jumped in front of Harold and got shot in the chest.

Before he could even comprehend fully what happened he was across the room while Harold was staring at the girl in shock. Stanley had grabbed the knife and knocked the gun out of his hand in blind rage. All he was thinking was to kill the man that hurt his little girl. Harold tried to fight, but rage gave Stanley strength and he ended up shoving the knife into the man's throat as he landed on the couch. When the man stopped fighting he turned and looked at his daughter whose body was shaking.

He immediately grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1 and frantically demanded an ambulance while he tried to stop the bleeding as best he could. When they confirmed that one was coming he let the phone drop and he gathered the girl in his arms and did his best to keep the wound from bleeding anymore.

"It's okay, Kat, you're gonna be alright," he said with a quivering voice. "You're gonna get better and we can go fishing and-"

"Daddy... I think it's time to go," she whimpers.

He shook his head and the tears built in his eyes. "No, baby girl, please... you gotta stay here."

She shook her head. "I can't... I-I know why I was born... to protect- protect you..."

"No, it's my job to protect you, and I failed..."

"You're the best daddy anyone could ask for... go fishing for me..." A round of coughing before she managed to get her breathe back. "I love you... daddy..."

"I love you, too, Kat," he sobs.

One... two... three.. four... five... six... seven breaths... and then she was gone.

And that was when his entire world was shattered...

...

"Grunkle Stan?"

He clears his throat and looks over to his family to find all three of them staring at him. "What? What is it?"

"Are you okay?" Dipper asks cautiously.

"Why?"

"You looked sad," Mabel says. "Do you wanna have some Mabel juice?"

Damn it all if Mabel didn't remind him of his daughter. It hurt to even look at her- at first, back when she was a baby and even in the pictures that their parents sent him- but he kept the pain inside and managed to find some differences and come to terms that this wasn't the girl he lost almost twenty years ago, but his great-niece. After that he'd agreed to let them come live with him and he had gained a close bond with the bubbly pre-teen girl.

"Sure," he says with a smile.

Mabel runs into the kitchen to get him some Mabel juice, but Dipper and Stanford observe him. He knows that they see something off- all of them could since he was remembering the most spirit crushing moment of his life. The moment he failed as a father.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Stanford asks.

"Not if I'm accepting Mabel juice," he admits, but smiles when it's given to him and drinks a little to entertain her- hopefully he doesn't die because of this. "Thanks, sweetie, it was refreshing."

Mabel grins. "Great! Want some more?"

"I- uh- I'll wait. Don't wanna have too much good stuff," he manages to say, drinking some more of the death drink before he pours a little in the plant next to him with glitter and one out of two dinosaurs when she turns her back.

"Okay!"

She may be like Karen, but this is Mabel and that's all he'll ever ask of her.

* * *

Bubba: ... shoot, that's about as sad as a puppy gettin' kicked off a cliff...

HAT: *raises eyebrow* Wh- nevermind. *turns to camera* I hated writing this. I was so in my feelings and _every single sad song_ decided to play while I was writing it.

Bubba: Were you playing your sad playlist?

HAT: No, it was all m music... on random

Bubba: Ooo, touch luck.

HAT: I know... it killed me when _Take Me To The King_ came on.

Bubba: How are you still alive?

HAT: I went to iFunny immediately after writing this.

Bubba: Makes sense.

HAT: After this is back to iFunny...

Bubba: Review everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

HAT: This is kind of a continuation of _Acrophobia_ (chapter two) when it comes to the flashback. This is what happened after they got away. Anyway, enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: I only own the OCs, Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch and Disney.**

* * *

 **Trust:**

 _"_ I _promise_ that I didn't do it!" Wendy insists as she looks directly up to her boss.

Stanley glares down at his redheaded employee. "Wendy, after all the stuff that you've done, how do you expect me to believe you?"

"I expect you to trust me enough to know that I didn't do it!"

"Kid, I don't know if I can," he admits as he leans back in his chair and looks away. "The security tape caught everything."

"Fine! Don't believe me, then," Wendy shouts and then storms out of the Mystery Shack all together.

"Grunkle Stan, why don't you trust anyone?" Mabel asks while looking up at her grunkle.

He sighs. "It's a long story..."

...

"Jake, hurry up," Stanley hissed to his friend. "They're gonna get us if we don't."

"Slow down, man, we lost them three blocks ago... dude, are you okay? You still shaky from almost dying?"

"I was falling off of a building, yes, I'm still shaky," Stanley snapped while stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Jake rolls his eyes. "Fine, I'll hurry up."

Twenty more minutes and they were in Jake's apartment. It was mostly bare with boxes to sit on and an ashtray in the middle of the floor. Jake was getting ready to move and most of his stuff was in the new place aside from his bed, his clothes in the closet, and such.

Stanley sat on one box next to Jake while smoking a cigarette to calm his nerves; his hands shook as he brought the death stick to his lips and took a deep breath. He'd never been more thankful for his friend- one of a few- and he was just glad that he got in a tight relationship with Jake. This man was just like a brother- one that won't abandon him for anything and he knew that he'd do for this man like Jake had done for him.

There was a knock at the door and the two of them froze and looked at each other, wondering who it was that could be knocking on Jake's door.

Jake snatched the cigarette form Stanley's fingers and brought them to his lips and took a drag as he walked to the door and Stanley went into Jake's room and hid in the closet in a trunk. He was in there for about ten minutes before he heard a gunshot. He nearly jumped out of the chest at the sound, but he knew better. If it were Jake that did the shooting, he'd come to tell him it was safe and if not- and he prayed that this wasn't the case- he'd have to wait until he was sure that everything was quiet.

"Stan!"

Stanley pushed his way out of the trunk and ran out into the living room and saw his friend lying on the ground with a hole in his chest. "Jake, who did this?"

"Tony... save Tony..."

"I gotta get you to the hospital," Stanley insists, but jake won't hear this.

"Get Tony, trust... no one..."

Stanley curses under his breath and runs into Jake's room, grabs the garment that his hand could reach and ran back into the living room and wrapped it around his torso. Once this was done he put the phone next to his bleeding friend while dialing 9-1-1.

"Talk to them, I'll go get Tony."

Jake nodded. "Go."

Stanley turned and ran out of the apartment with his mind mentally going through every place that Tony could be. He decided to check the man's apartment since it was nearby and wound up coming up short. He stopped and tried to use his head. It was Thursday so from 6 to 6:30 he was at home trying to take up trying to get to work and then from 7 to 3 he was at work and then from about 3:30 to 6 he was at home and from 7 to 9- at the moment it was 9:04- he went jogging in a random direction after a week just in case he had been tailed. That meant he was on his way back.

 _It's spring, second week of April... route 14_. Without hesitation he ran down the return route and looked desperately for Tony's familiar blond hair. He rounded a corner and saw something that was both a relief and a cause for panic. A large red haired man with pale skin dusted with freckles in a suit- he was 25- was towering over a smaller man with blond hair trimmed relatively neat with a little hair flopping over his left eye- he was 19.

"Frank, c'mon, Stan's our friend!"

"You know what happened to jake when he didn't tell me where Stan was?"

Tony blinked. "No... Tell me you didn't kill him!"

"Just tell me where Stan is and you'll walk away."

"I'm right here, Frank! Let the kid go! I'm the one you want, okay?"

Frank gives a crooked smile. "I'm guessing you were there right before Jake died."

Stanley narrows his eyes at his old friend. "I thought we were brothers, Frank! Why're you doing this?"

"Nothing personal, just a paycheck. You're wanted dead and I've gotta deliver. Who cares if I kill a kid to do it?"

"These are our friends- our family!"

Frank points the trigger to Tony's back. "I. Don't. Care."

And then the trigger's pulled and Tony collapsed. Stanley ran forward and fell to his knees beside Tony and gathered the boy into his arms. He felt the gun being pressed to his head, but he didn't care at that moment, he was more concerned with Tony.

"Tony, stay awake."

"Avenge me and Jake..."

Stanley didn't need to be told twice because he whirled, disregarding the gun on his head and punched the man in the gut. The gun clattered to the ground and Stanley picked it up and stood to his full height. He couldn't have this. He didn't want to kill the first man he gave his trust to after being kicked out of his home by his father six years ago.

"Do it, kill me!" Frank roared, dark brown eyes meeting Stanley's.

Now Stanley couldn't do it because of how much pain were in those eyes. "Why?"

Frank lowered his head. "After all I've done you still won't pull the trigger will you?"

About three years ago Frank had tried to test Stanley to see what he was made of and tried to get Stanley to shoot him in the chest. Of course he wasn't trying to kill himself, he placed it in a place where he'd survive, but Stanley couldn't bring himself to kill him. Staney was a criminal, but he was primarily a conman. He wasn't a killer until it was necessary.

"N-"

"You're a fucking idiot!" Frank laughs.

Everything moved in slow motion as Frank pulled out a knife and started up to stab Stanley, but didn't get far because Stanley pulled the trigger and there was a hole in the redhead's head. He looked down at his first friend and realized that trust shouldn't be so easily given.

He turned to Tony and picked him up. "C'mon, kid, let's get you to the hospital."

...

He hadn't told Mabel the story, he refused to anyone about his past, but he decided to spend the rest of the day looking through everything thoroughly, checking security cameras more than how many fingers and toes himself an his brother had combined. That made his redheaded employee seem guilty, but he'd never seen so much determination in those emerald eyes.

 _Why does everything I have make her seem guilty?_ Stanley thinks while pinching the bridge of his nose.

Then he notices something small with white hair sneaking away from the destroyed property just as Wendy was walking away. Everything makes sense again. _Gideon!_

He picks up the phone and dials Wendy's number- he memorized it the first month after she got her cell phone- and waits only to get the voicemail. "Hey, Wendy, it's Stan. I just called to say that... I'm sorry... if you don't wanna come back to work here, that's fine. I don't blame you. It's hard working for a boss that doesn't trust anyone, I suppose... uh, goodbye."

He hangs up and takes off his fez and fixes his hair before putting it back on.

-The Next Day-

Stanley opens up the Mystery Shack and starts to get everything ready. He feels terrible for not believing Wendy, but what can he do if she chooses not to come back. He'll just have to deal with an angry Dipper for a while. He can stand that for a little while.

The door opens and he expects it to be Soos- it usually is- and continues to make everything presentable. It's only when he hears a feminine voice when someone clears their throat does he turn around to see Wendy standing there.

"Hey, Mr. Pines."

Stanley clears his throat to try not to seem awkward. "Uh, how's it hangin'?"

"I got your message and I was wondering is you still had the cashier spot opened?"

"Yeah... you want the job, kid?"

"That'd be great!"

"Well it's yours."

"Thanks for the job."

"You can start today."

"Cool."

* * *

HAT: I honestly couldn't think of any other way to end this. Stan and Wendy have this weird relationship with each other where they butt heads a lot, but are cool with each other at the same time. I figured the two of them would have a kind of awkward thing like they did at the end.

Wendy: I'm glad you're putting me in something. I'm tired of being kicked out of everything. I wasn't even in the last two episodes except in the one epilogue!

HAT: I know! I miss seeing you!

Wendy: Dudes, you should totally review!

HAT: Wanna go get some pizza?

Wendy: Sure.

Both: *walk out of studio*


End file.
